Agitator top for vacuum cleaner filters



June 28, 1938. w. LEATHERS 2,122,179

AGITATORITOP FOR VACUUM CLEANER FILTERS Filed July 51, 1957 ATTORNEY.

Patented June 28, 1938 UNITED STATES AGITATOR TOP FOR VACUUM CLEANER FILTERS Ward Leathers, Haworth, N. J.,

assignor to Quadrex Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application July 31, 1937, Serial No. 156,696

2 Claims.

The principal object of my invention is to provide means whereby stoppage of dirt may be avoided or removed at the U-turn in the top of a vacuum cleaner filter. My device applies more particularly to that type of cleaner which has a filter co-axial with an operator's handle, and wherein the dirt-laden air is carried upward to the top of the filter, directed through a U-turn'at that point and then directed downward through thefilter toward the dirt-receptacle.

My invention consists primarily of a spring-resisted plunger. It is disposed in the top of the filter and passes through, and is manually operable through, a transparent domelike filter top. Its purpose is to indicate to the operator when any stoppage of dirt or rubbish occurs in the top of the filter (at the U-turn) and to enable the operator, without opening the filter-top, to disengage it instantly and manually.

In order to set forth my invention so all those familiar with these arts may understand, I have prepared the following specification and appended drawing, of which:-

Figure I is a diagrammatic side view of my push-broom type vacuum cleaner.

Figure II is a partially cross-sectioned elevation of the filter-top and plunger mechanism.

Figure III is the same showing a modification.

A motor-blower-unit (Figure I) has joined to its bottom end a removable nozzle 2, to its top is joined an up-draught air tube 3 held between the motor-blower-unit and supporting member 4. A filter 5 surrounding an operators handle 6 is also joined to the supporting member 4. An inner filter duct 1 directs the dirt-laden air to the top of the filter where, after making a U-turn, it passes downward through the filter toward a dirt-receptacle 6. The filter communicates at its lower end through the supporting member 4 with the dirt-receptacle 8 which is held to the under side of the supporting member by means of a latch 9. At the upper end of the operators handle is a handle-grip In, a current supply cord II, and a hang-up ring 12.

A dome of transparent material 13 (Figure II) is joined to the top of the filter 5 in any suitable manner, but preferably by a manually releasable latch [4. The filter, as shown made of fabric, is held as by riveting between an annular outer ring [5 and an annular inner ring 16. Between these two rings is disposed a compressible gasket or packing ring I! made of rubber, sponge rubber, felt, or other compressible material. An up-draught inner dirt duct 1 is made by sewing a piece of fabric on both edges (as at 18) to the inner wall of the filter. The upper end of this fabric piece is provided with a welt 20 for the purpose of holding the central portion high enough to carry the up-draught dirt-laden air into the dome l3 where it is obliged to make a U-turn on the inner face of the dome i3. A pin 21 passing through the handle 6 supports a washer 22, which supports the lower end of a spring 23 surrounding the handle. The spring impinges between the washer 22 and the turned-in topof a solid cylindrical sleeve 25, which surrounds both spring and handle. An annular moulded rubber piece 25 on the top of the cylindrical sleeve serves as a convenient manual handle-grip. Joined to the bottom of the sleeve 25, as by a screw thread, is an annular part 21 having a projecting shoulder which is held, by means of the spring 23, against the under side of a Washer 30. This washer may be of rubber or felt or other yieldable material. It fits snugly within a recess in the transparent dome I3. A further soft washer 3| of felt or other yieldable material fits next the handle and is held within the annular part 21. The purpose of the washer or gaskets I1, 30, and 31, is to avoid the leakage of dirt-laden air and hence the dissemination of dust. The cylindrical sleeve 25 together with its spring 23, and its bottom member 21, comprises a plunger which is free to move longitudinally with the handle. The upward thrust of the spring in this plunger mechanism pulls upward on the dome l3 and hence on the fabric filter 5 holding the latter firmly taut and cylindrical. When the machine is in operation and there is air pressure inside the filter, the filter 5 and the dome l3 holds firmly in, place Without the upward effort of the spring 23. Under these conditions the plunger mechanism, by means of the handle-grip 26, may be pushed downward freely, the cylindrical part 25 sliding through the washer or gasket. 30. When the plunger is so depressed it contacts and distorts the welt 20 in the top of the inner dirt duct 1 and as it passes upward and downward through the dome l3 and so disturbs the welt it disengages any cleavage or accumulation of dirt or rug nap which may occur, and the stream of air blows it immediately into the larger portion of the filter where the dirt-laden air passes downward toward the dirt-receptacle 8.

In use it is highly desirable that some means of avoiding dirt cleavage at the U-turn be provided. The transparent top 93 lying as it does directly in the operators line of vision gives immediate evidence of any such stoppage and the plunger mechanism without the leakage of dirt or dust can be used for instantly dislodging such troublesome material.

The foregoing description pertains to a filter, filter top, and operators handle wherein the operators handle passes through the filter-top and continues downward through the filter to a point of attachment at the bottom of the filter for furnishing the main longitudinal structural support of the machine. I have found it very desirable in some cases to omit that portion of the handle which passes through the filter, see Fig ure III. In this case, the filter-top I3- is joined in any suitable manner as by screws or manually releasable latches (as at I4 in Figure II) to an outer solid filter casing 40. This cylindrical case is made of any thin, light, stiff, non-dentable material such as hard fibre. The outer case 40 is joined at its bottom in a rigid manner to the supporting member 4, which in turn is joined. in

a substantial and rigid manner to the up-draught' air tube 3, which is also joined in a rigid structural manner to the motor-suction-unit I. When the operators handle 6 is joined to the filter cap 13 in rigid manner, as, for instance, by rivets or screws, the vacuum cleaner becomes a rigid structure from the handle-grip ID to the motor-suction-unit I without the operators handle 6 passing through the filter. The filter 5 is joined at its top to the outer casing 40 by means of an internal ring 4| which also provides a seat or anchorage for the filter cap I 3. It is self-evident that in this structure the agitator plunger cannot surround the handle 6 and is, therefore, pro vided on the side thereof. It may be devisedin many forms but I have shown it somewhat diagrammatically as a plunger rod 42 with a top push-button 43 and an upward-lifting spring 44 impinging between the push-button 43 and the about the top of the inner filter duct 1.

modification of the mechanism of Figure 11 is cap l3. The plunger rod passes through the cap I3 and has joined to it at its inner end a suitable disc or face which may be annular or otherwise shaped, may be recessed into the cap 13 in order to keep a perfectly smooth interior for air flow purposes, and may also be provided, if desired, with small milled teeth or projections on its outer rim so that turning the button 43 will help to dislodge any rubbish that may accumulate Such necessary where the operators handle 6 does not pass through the filter, or in other words, is not used for structural support of the machine in the filter zone.

I claim:

1. In a vacuum-cleaner, a motor-suction-unit, an operators handle surrounded by a filter, a

v dome-likecap on said filter, a spring-resisted 'plunger surrounding the handle and passing through said cap for disengaging dirt or rubbish that sticks in the top of the filter.

2. In a vacuum-cleaner, a motor-suction-unit, an operators handle surrounded by a filter, a solid domelike top on said filter, and a plunger surrounding said handle and passing through the said top for disengaging dirt or rubbish that sticks in the top of said filter.

3. In a vacuum-cleaner, a motor-suction unit, a filter having an internal duct for leading dirtladen air to a point near the top of said filter, a dome-like cap on said filter, and a manually operable plunger surrounding an operators handie with both handle and plunger passing through the top on said filter for dislodging dirt or rubbish that sticks in the top of said filter.

WARD LEATHERS. 

